Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (2006–…): Season 3, Episode 11 - Where the Locals Go - full transcript

Hey there, I'm Guy Fieri,
and we're rolling out

looking for America's greatest
diners, drive-ins, and dives.

This trip...

Let's see the magic, baby.

...we're loading, stuffing,
and frying...

Wait, oh, slow down!

...like with Mexican seafood
specialities in Kansas City...

That's the money bite.

...the bomb barbecue
in El Paso...

No filler, all thriller.

...and in Santa Fe...



...farm to table...

I like that.

...done down and dirty.

That's a destination dish.

I'd come back tomorrow
for this.

That's all right here, right now
on "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives."

So, I'm about 10 miles
outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico,

in an area known as Eldorado
to Santa Fe,

a little shopping complex.

They got a supermarket,
a financial advisor,

a flower shop,
and funky little restaurant

where a husband and wife team

have opened up a place
the people are going nuts for.

This is Arable.



Wings in the window.

You find this place,
and you're just like, "Wow."

New Orleans-style
shrimp and grits.

Local, farm-to-table food.

Everything Renée does
is like...

It's that reputation
of Renée Fox

and her husband,
Dave Readyhough,

that draws folks into this
out-of-the-way joint.

And where are we in,
by the way?

'Cause I pulled up to the vet,

and the lady was bringing
the horse

through the front door.

Welcome to Santa Fe.

How did you come up
with the name?

Arable means land
that's fit for farming.

Well, we use it as like, "How
did I do at that restaurant?

Is that arable?"

Let's talk about
what we're making.

We're gonna make
our bison fries.

It's house-cut fries topped
with slow-cooked buffalo,

cheese, and some gravy,
the ultimate comfort food.

All right.
So, what are we getting into?

I like to cook the bison
in a pressure cooker.

A gigantic shank.

I'm just doing
salt and pepper.

In there, sear both sides.

I'm gonna take
the seared meat out

just to give me some room in
the pan to sauté the vegetables.

And this is all for our gravy

that we're putting on
top of our fries.
Yes.

Shallots, celery, carrots,
garlic.

Bay leaf.

-Salt and pepper.
-Chicken stock.

Red wine, tomatoes.

And a little fresh thyme.

Adding the meat back in.

And seal it up.

It takes about 35 minutes.

Got it.

And we have this
very tender osso buco.

That's delicious.

We keep all those vegetables
and turn that into the sauce.

We are in New Mexico,
some chopped green chile,

Worcestershire, blend it all up
with the immersion blender.

The most important thing
is that bone marrow.

So, we actually scoop it out,
and it gives it a luxuriousness.

Add the meat back into it
and we're done.

Are we gonna fresh cut
these fries?

We hand-cut them.

Ladies and gentlemen, never seen
this before on "Triple D,"

she's gonna cut the potatoes
with her hand.

We use Colorado organic
red potatoes.

-Soak them in water.
-To get some of that starch out.

This thing's snapping.

We boil them first

and then we're still
gonna twice fry them.

Do you just like to work extra?

25 hours a day,
8 days a week, and just,

"You know what I'm gonna do is

I'm gonna cut them up,
and then I'm gonna boil them."

-You drink coffee?
-Yes, a lot.

Give you a big old plate
of fries.

That's how many people get?

They're really good.

All your shenanigans
are paying off.

Add some delicious Gruyère

and then we're gonna
melt that cheese.

I like that.

Some chives and voilà.

The Gruyère I can smell
right off the bat.

That's remarkable,
I mean, like...

This is like getting a bite
of your favorite steak dinner.

Big, rich beef flavor
coming from that osso buco.

The fry has tremendous
potato flavor.

It's just submerged in enough
of that jus,

the Gruyère got its way
to melt down nook and cranny

all the way
to the bottom of the fries.

That's a destination dish.

I'd come back tomorrow for this
and the next day.

All right.
Bison gravy dirty fries.

I'm a sucker for
the dirty fries.

It's a rich, meaty taste.

The gravy? So good.

And with the bone marrow,
it's like butter.

Can I get a pickup
on a house burger?

Everything's delicious,
local, organic.

From the beef...

New York strip.

...to the chicken...

I'm a sucker for wings,
and the wings they do here

are really top draw.

...and you can't forget
about the lamb.

Serres sandwich for service.

Local lamb and tomato aioli,
some mozzarella cheese in there,

house-made rye bread.

It's so good.

What are we up to now?

So, we're doing a Greek-inspired
sandwich called Serres.

We're gonna make the dry rub
for the lamb --

salt, ground fennel,

Aleppo pepper, ground
black pepper, and oregano.

And we're gonna let this
marinate for 24 hours?
Exactly. We are.

Avocado oil.

Sear this on both sides

and then that is gonna go
right into our pan.

We just want to do
a really flavorful braise --

yellow sweet onion, red onion,
garlic, celery, and carrots.

Some homemade chicken stock,
red wine,

and just a little bit
of tomato,

and that gets covered with foil
and goes in the oven.

-How long?
-About four hours.

Gonna shred it,
and the final steps are?

We're gonna do
an olive tapenade.

And we're gonna start with
green olives and black olives,

pulse them up
just a little bit,

and minced garlic, capers,

lemon zest, anchovy paste.

That's a real key there.

It gives it a ton of an umami.

Italian parsley and fresh mint,
easy as that.

What else are we putting
on this sandwich?

Homemade tomato aioli.

I'm gonna put the eggs in first,
get them buzzing,

add salt and pepper, red wine
vinegar, organic ketchup,

Italian sunrise sun-dried
tomatoes --

super delicious --
add the oil.

- That's it.

Good things come to those
who wait.

-Delicious.
-All right.

Our homemade bread,
tomato aioli on one side,

tapenade on the other side.

This will have more flavor
than you can ever imagine.

Local Tucumcari feta.

Wait, oh, slow down!

Mozzarella,
roasted red pepper.

If you put anything else on this
besides the meat, I'm walking.

This is it.
So, we got to melt this cheese.

Our lamb is ready,
we reheated that in the jus.

6,000 ingredients.

And some homemade tots
on the side.

You're a dangerous woman.
That's a delicious sandwich.

The bread's dynamite.
The lamb is fantastic.

The tomato aioli
definitely sings,

definitely gives that
fat part.

The feta, nice little
salty dry crumble.

The tapenade, herbaceous,
acidic funk.

It is really a Greek lamb dinner
inside of a sandwich.

-Nice job.
-Thank you.

Local lamb, house made tots.

The shredded lamb,
it's unbelievable.

The tomato aioli
is nice and creamy.

The olive tapenade
is absolutely amazing.

Here's our Moroccan chicken.

You just don't find anything
else like this in Santa Fe.

We're so lucky to
have this gem.

You really have
a drive to do it

the right way,
make it the right thing.

-It's the whole energy here.
-Otherwise, it's "Why do it?"

I love the way you roll.

Up next,
a Kansas City spot

serving south-of-the-border
seafood...

And this is real deal.

...from funky fried fish...

I don't care if this is the only
thing on the menu, I'll be back.

...to over-the-top oysters.

Bro! Get me more of this.

So, I'm here in Kansas City
on the Kansas side.

Usually when I come to these
parts, I'm looking for --

you got it --
some real-deal barbecue.

Matter of fact, I've competed
here with my team, Motley Que,

right over there at
the Kemper Arena

for the American Royal.

We did pretty good.

Anyhow, I know we're
in a landlocked state,

but I'm looking
for some seafood,

and not just any seafood,

I'm looking for some
with a Mexican flare,

maybe from Veracruz.

And this is the joint
right here at Jarocho.

Chipotle shrimp.

A little drop of paradise right
in the middle of Kansas City.

Black bass going down.

Fish in Kansas, it's crazy.

Octopus ink, ready.

When I found Chef Carlos'
restaurant,

it took me back
to being in Mexico

and eating that seafood.

Probably because it's in
Carlos Falcon's DNA.

I grew up probably about 100
feet from the ocean in Mexico.

Now he and his wife, Sayaka,

aren't gonna let hundreds
of miles to the Gulf of Mexico

keep them from serving
their ocean-based menu.

Even though we're landlocked
here in Kansas City,

you're getting
fresh seafood.

Yes, every single day.

So, what's setting you apart

from what everybody else
is doing?

It's style, you know.

This is Veracruz style.

Veracruz is a big,
important port,

and a lot of people
from all over Mexico,

they brought with them
their culture.

I try to emulate little shacks
by the ocean.

Black bass ready.
Table four, Sayaka.

Fried whole fish
is my favorite dish.

It's briny, it's delicious.

Fried to a crispy brown,
and it's always gonna be fresh.

So, black sea bass --

what are we gonna go
into flour, cornstarch?

-Nothing.
-Nada?

Nada.

And it's gonna give you
a really crust.

-Really?
-Yep.

-We're gonna make the brine.
-Okay.

We need a lot of salt,
lot of garlic...
Okay.

...give it a little whisk,
score the fish.

The scales have been taken
off the skin, of course.
Yes.

In Veracruz,
we make the cut deep,

and when you fry it,
it gives a really nice look.

Our brine.

Ice to cool down
so we don't poach it.

Brine for 24 hours.

Fry it for about six
to seven minutes.

And what are we gonna
serve with this?

Cabbage salad, like coleslaw --

red cabbage, white cabbage,
red onions, carrots,

diced tomatoes,
fresh cilantro, olive oil.

You don't find olive oil
in Latin cooking very often.

No, in Veracruz, olive oil is
one of the biggest ingredients

because we used to be
a Spanish colony.

This olive oil actually
comes from California.

A good friend of mine
always brings it for me.

Was that a hint that I didn't
have any in my trunk

for you in the Camaro?

Lime juice, a little salt.

That salt will bring some of
that moisture out,

break this down.
-Oh, yes.

Anything else?

We're gonna make
some chipotle sauce, too.
Got it.

So, we've got some butter,
garlic, onions,

fresh jalapeños, cilantro,
chipotle and adobo,

and this sauce --
it's almost like a ketchup.

So, this one is
gonna provide some --
You make this?

-Yes.
-It tastes like cocktail sauce.

Yeah, it has, like,
tomato sauce, cloves,

celery seeds, cinnamon,

allspice,
brown sugar, lobster broth.

That's the sauce
that's going in?
Yep.

And that's our chipotle sauce
for the fried fish.
Yes.

- Ready to go.

That's big, brother.
How many people's that for?

-One.
-One peoples?

-Yep.
-You got issues.

Slaw, some of the sauce,
good to go.

Bro, I don't care if this is
the only thing on the menu,

I'll be back just for that

'cause there is tons
of crunch in this.

It's really flavorful.

Is it always with
the black sea bass?

No, we do halibut, any type of
flounder, freshwater fish, too.

That sauce is spot-on.

Got a little bit of spice,
a lot of flavor.

You've got good acidity.

The slaw is prepared perfectly.

That's the money bite.

- I want to go to Veracruz now.

You don't have to go to
Veracruz,

you can just come here.
-You could just come here.

We're a team.

What are you tasting?
Give me the rundown here.

The chipotle sauce on top
is phenomenal.

-Still crunchy, though --
-Still crunchy.

...even though you have
a wet sauce on top.

Yeah.
It's just a great texture.

When you break into it,
it's still juicy and tender,

good buttery flavor.

You make it
into these fish tacos

with the slaw and the rice,
it's amazing.

-Ridiculous.
-It is so good.

Some tortillas for you guys.

I've been here a lot,
and there's never one dish

that's not gonna be good.

And when you support
a local chef like Carlos,

it's really great.

And the city's
really blossomed.

The culinary scene has gone
through a complete

and total rebirth,
and they're doing amazing stuff.

Fire-grilled trout ready.

Carlos really offers
truly unique dishes

we don't have access to
in this part of the country.

And your shrimp cucaracha.

-Thank you.
-Enjoy.

So, here's the deal, we're
hanging out in Kansas City.

We're having some real-deal
Veracruz Mexican food.

When we come back,
the fish will be gone,

we'll make some oysters.

Grilled stuffed oysters.

I'm not an oyster fan,

but the grilled stuffed oysters
here are amazing.

It's an incredible dish, I would
eat it every day if I could.

-Can I have more sauce?
-Yes.

Commercial. Bye-bye.
See you in bit.

Check your e-mail.
Call your mom.

And there's two sides
to this fish.

Did you see the drool
come out of my mouth?

I was already eating this
as I was talking.

...fish.

Welcome back.

"Triple D" is handing out
in Kansas City at Jarocho,

Veracruz Mexican restaurant
featuring some of the staples,

but really the main interest
here is all about fresh seafood.
Fresh seafood.

Table five.
Scallops aguachile criollo.

This is what he knows.

It's fresh, you taste the ocean,
and it's right here

in the center
of a landlocked continent.

Stuffed oysters down.

Grilled stuff oysters are one
of my favorite things here.

The flavor's just unlike
anything I've ever had before,

it's so unique.

Okay. So, what's next?

We're gonna make oysters.

In the stuffing,
we put shrimp, octopus,

and some blue crab meat.

That's my kind of oyster.

We're gonna cook
some Spanish octopus.

We're gonna need some mirepoix
and some fresh garlic.

Comes all the way from Spain.

They put them in these
steel barrels,

bond just all, you know --

So, it's coming in
pre-tenderized.

And we're just gonna cook it
for about 20 minutes.

-And it's good to go.
-We're gonna cook some shrimp.

-In that same broth.
-This is all about flavor.

Let's see the magic, baby.

-Okay.
-Cut this up, though.

Chop our shrimp, onions,
jalapeños, cilantro.

Everything's gonna raw
when it goes in this?
Yes.

It's not gonna cook
all the way through so...

Get a little texture, got it.

Monterey cheese, our house
seasoning, guajillo peppers,

ancho peppers, sea salt,

a little bit of garlic,
olive oil.

The oysters that
you're bringing in?

Come from Ensenada, Mexico.

They are
from the Kumiai family.

They're, like, really nice
and brightening.

-Got it.
-And we get some of that mix.

How many of those
come with an order?

Six, eight, 12.

-Keep counting, buddy.
-24, whatever you want.

I like those numbers.
Onto the grill.

We cover them.

These are not gonna be
hot at all.

I'm gonna die.

So, they get cool really quick.

-Yeah, they do.
-About 30 minutes.

They get cool really quick,
about 30 minutes or so.

Wow.

Hold, please.

It's eating the end
off the fork, it's that hot.

Bro! What a combination.

Mmm! I mean,
this is real deal.

You have so much going on here,

I really thought it was
gonna interrupt the oyster.

The oyster's dynamite.

The ancho and the guajillo
gives a nice warmth to it

without being too hot,
without stealing the seafood.

The shrimp and the octopus
both go perfectly.

It's a really
great combination.

It's your favorite bite
of paella without the rice.

Without the rice.

Get me more of this.

Well done, Chef.

-Thank you.
-Well done.

Grilled stuffed oysters.

You didn't like the oyster,
because it's completely gone.

Yeah.

He did a great job getting those
really fresh, balanced flavors.

It's not too much spice,
but just enough

to get your taste buds tingling.

Ceviche Jarocho.
Table five, ready.

It's just a great experience
overall in this restaurant.

It's really amazing.

When you come to KC,
and you're looking for

a cultural experience
with seafood in mind,

this is the guy
'cause the food's legit.

- 15 more.

Coming up, a legit barbecue
joint in El Paso...

That's dangerous.
That you have to stay away from.

...piling up the potatoes...

The whole thing is
a package deal, man.

...and making sausage
with a Lone Star spin.

I've heard Texas red hots,
never heard of a Texas hot gut.

So, I'm here in El Paso, Texas,
I'm in a strip mall,

and I'm looking for --
wait for it -- barbecue.

Now, wait, wait, wait, listen.

Listen, I felt
the exact same way --

I mean, El Paso, Texas,
real-deal barbecue strip mall,

you got to be kidding me --
until I heard about this dude.

He's got a big monster smoker
that's a stick burner.

I mean, no gas assist,
it's real deal.

This is Desert Oak Barbecue.

Pull these briskets.

Everything I've ever tried
on this menu is awesome.

Run them in.

So, there's a lot of
great food in this town.
Mm-hmm.

Is there a lot of barbecue?

Not really, some like barbecue
that I don't consider barbecue.

What's the different about here
is the way they smoke it.

Which is a trick that
owners Rich Funk and his wife,

Suzanne, have borrowed
from another part

of the Lone Star State.

It's a central Texas-style
barbecue which they use oak.

This is a stick-burner
barbecue.
Yeah.

So, you're back there, and you
got to keep this thing rolling.

We cook day and night.

And the specialty
of the house is?

-El Paso stuffed potato.
-Here you go.

El Paso potato with brisket.

Stuffed baked potato
is powerful, you know.

You get that baked potato,
and cheese, and beans,

and you have beautiful,
moist brisket.

It will definitely fill you up.

What are we making first?

Jalapeños toreados
and we're gonna top

the El Paso stuffed potato
with them.

Roast the jalapeños.

No oil, no nada.

Lime juice, soy sauce.

-And the onions.
-Marinate overnight.

-What's our next step?
-We're gonna prepare the potato.

We wrap it in foil,
throw it in the smoker.

-How long's it take to cook?
-About four hours.

I can put on there
what type of meat I want?
Yeah.

I want to see
what the brisket's all about.

Big old, fat brisket
right here, we're gonna trim it,

and we need a perfect shape.

And where did you learn
this crazy technique?

It was a lot of trial
and error.

- You've been on trial a lot?

Now salt and pepper city.

This is ready to go
in the smoker 18 hours.

Between 250 and 275.

Make it happen, captain.

All right.
Let's make a potato.

I'm gonna roll it,
soften it up.

Beat it up is more like it.

You know, it's just a garnish
at this point.

Some butter.

Salt, pepper, cheese,
sour cream, some chives,

and some brisket -- that's
a quarter pound right there --

some beans, and our jalapeño.

Anybody ever eat
the whole thing?
Yeah.

What football team
do you play for?

There's a lot more going on
in this

than what most people
would call

the average
stuffed baked potato.

Oh, toreado is one of
my new favorite things.

One thing I like
on your brisket --

it's not overly smokey,
nicely seasoned,

good bark,
beans are delicious.

The whole thing is a package
deal, man,

besides the fact
that it's not a human size.

It's like four human sizes.

-Yeah.
-Excellent.

All right, Jesse,
do your thing.

When I'm hungry, I definitely
get the stuffed potato.

Great flavors,
great zest to it.

The brisket is just consistently
moist in the middle.

-Incredible.
-You've had good barbecue.

-Yeah.
-In a strip mall?

This used to be a food truck,
actually.

No, this is
a strip mall, buddy.

You can't tell me
it was a food truck.

I can tell, there's no wheels
on this.

But before the food truck,
Rich was in the Navy,

then came Texas
where he married Suzanne

and fell in love with the cue.

I just started playing around
with a smoker

and then I just
became obsessed.

For Rich, it's not a job,
this is the passion of his life.

He wanted to build this place
to reflect Texas.

-What are we doing next?
-We can make some sausage.

-What kind of sausage?
-Texas hot gut.

-Hot what?
-Gut.

I've heard Texas red hots,
never heard of a Texas hot gut.

Sausage is very delicious,
and it has a nice,

snapping crunch of the skin.

The flavors, man,
they're all there.

All right, so, we're gonna make
our mix of spices here.

-Okay.
-I like to start with the water.

That's one of my favorite
spices.

We're gonna make a paste.

Garlic, turmeric,
black pepper, kosher salt.

Here comes the hot gut.

- Red pepper, mustard, paprika.

I thought that was cayenne,
I was like, "We're dead."

No.
Dry milk, and some curing salt.

Okay, does it say
hot gut up there?

No, it's a Texas thing.
It's kind of known.

No, what does it say?
It says sausage link.

- That's boring.

Give me the chalk.

Done.

This is beef and pork
that we're gonna put together?

Yes, it is.

Rib trimmings and brisket
trimmings and just enough fat.

So, you're saving
those trimmings

to make yourself
a big batch of sausage.

Absolutely.
That's how we do it.

Smart guy.
It's the Navy.

And now the spice mixture.
We'll go to the grind.

-Load this.
-Wow.

You got yourself
the fancy-dancy electric one.

Synthetic or natural casing?

Natural casings.

For how long will they be
going in the smoker?

They're gonna cold smoke
for about four hours.

-What temp?
-129.

Just enough to make some smoke.

-Yeah.
-Let's see it, buddy.

Two links, one sliced
and one whole.

What else is on here?

-Bread.
-Thanks for that.

Green chile and cheese rice.

Our coleslaw,
it's a sweet coleslaw

with some pineapple in it.

Okay.

No dainty
little sausage, there.

That's meaty.
No filler, all thriller.

Good amount of heat,
not over the top.

And a good snap on that casing.

Bro!

The green chile cheese rice,
that's dangerous.

That you have to
stay away from.
Thank you.

Well done.
Delicious sausage.
Thanks.

Grady, here you go.

The sausage is so good.

It's that's nice, equal balance
of not too spicy

and it does have a little sweet.

And sausage?

We're not even gonna talk
about it, we're just gonna

give it the thumbs up.

How about double thumbs up?
It's all about this guy.

Quarter pound of brisket.

Desert Oak has definitely
the best barbecue

here in El Paso.

Just a delectable delight.

This is the real deal.

Everything that you're doing
you're doing really mindfully,

and that is what it takes
to be a great at barbecue.

-Nice job.
-Thank you.

So, that's it for this edition
of "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives."

If you want to find the recipes
to some of the joints we visit,

I'll be looking for you
next time

on "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives."

The bite you took just now was
like that was the whole show.

Mmm. I can do better.

-I've done these before.
-Wow.

It's a whole different show.